Dendrobates alkaloids synthesi

Stereodivergent process for synthesis of the decahydroquinoline type of Dendrobates alkaloids... 

A retro-l,3-dipolar cycloaddition followed by an 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition was used for a highly efficient total synthesis of (-)-histrionicotoxin (4-354) (HTX) by Holmes and coworkers [123]. HTX is a spiropiperidine-containing alkaloid which was isolated by Doly, Witkop and coworkers [124] from the brightly colored poison-arrow frog Dendrobates histrionicus. It is of great pharmacological interest as a noncompetitive inhibitor of acetylcholine receptors. 

The first example of this type of alkaloid, compound 535, known hitherto merely as 205B, has recently been isolated from the skin of the Panamanian frog Dendrobates pumilio. The absolute stereochemistry of the natural (—)-alkaloid was first established by the total synthesis of its (+)-enantiomer by a multistage route from the fused piperidine 536... 

The Beckmann rearrangement was used as a key step (41% yield, under standard conditions) for the synthesis of the natural alkaloid Pumiliotoxin C 359, which was originally isolated from the skin extracts of Dendrobates pumilio (a strikingly coloured Panamanian poison arrow frog) (equation 139). ( )-Pumiliotoxin C was also synthesized by a similar ring formation process by Mehta and Praveen. ... 

Ring construction approaches have also been used effectively in the diastereoselective synthesis of the fused azepine 43 from the pyrrolidinone 41 and (Z)-l,4-dichloro-2-butene 42 [01TA2205], and in the synthesis of the alkaloid 275A (44) from the Colombian poison frog Dendrobates lehmanni [01JNP421]. 

The 2,6-dialkyl piperidines 212 and 213 have been detected in Dendrobates histrionicus and Dendrobates trivittatus, respectively [488]. Alkaloid 241D (211) was isolated from Dendrobates speciosusand its structure determined by HRMS, CIMS, and one- and two-dimensional Iff NMR [489]. The structure of 211 was confirmed in a two-step synthesis via condensation of 3-penten-2-one, decanal, and ammonia, followed by sodium borohydride reduction [490]. 

The first total synthesis of racemic histrionicotoxin (58), the parent structure in a family of related spirocyclic alkaloids isolated from the skins of Dendrobates histrionicus, utilized the Eschenmoser reaction to generate the anchor of what would become the enyne group extending from the a-position of the piperidine nucleus. The spirothiolactam intemiediate (77) was condensed with ethyl 2-bromoace-toacetate in the presence of sodium bicarbonate to produce (78) in good yield (Scheme 18). Prior to further reaction on the vinylogous carbamate, the pendent allylic acetate was elalx>rated to the enyne (79). Subsequent deacylation and enyne protection yielded spirobicycle (80), which gave a 1 1 mixture of isomers upon reduction. The desired diastereomer (81) was isolated and subsequently converted to racemic histrionicotoxin (58). 

The pumiliotoxins are a group of more than 60 alkaloids isolated from the toxic skin secretions of the frog Dendrobates pumilis and related species. Many of the alkaloids have, as a central feature, the unusual c/s-decahydroquinoline structure, and since they possess interesting neurological activities they are an attractive target for total synthesis. A new total synthesis of rf,/-pumiliotoxin C has been reported. The main feature of the new synthesis is the Diels-Alder reaction of an activated N-acylaminodiene and a crotonaldehyde derivative leading to an intermediate with two chiral centres which can be utilized to control the introduction of the third chiral centre (Scheme 67). The method, which is short and efficient, should be useful in the synthesis of other cis-decahydroquinoline alkaloids. The overall yield of c/,/-pumiliotoxin C was 51%. 

In the last decade, aza-Diels Alder reactions were used effectively to synthesize chiral six-member cyclic systems. Maloney and Danheiser reported on a strategy for the total synthesis of quinolizidine alkaloid (—)-217A 285 where aza-Diels-Alder reaction was used as the key step to induce the chirality in the molecule. The sulfonamide 282 prepared from 5-hexenol 281 by multistep procedures was converted into the aza-Diels Alder precursor 283. It underwent an intramolecular hetero Diels-Alder reaction at 130°C to afford cyclic a-amino nitrile 284 with 56-59% yield. From 284 quinolizidine (—)-217A 285 was prepared following simple steps (Scheme 40.63). This alkaloid is present in the skin of small dendrobatid frog, Dendrobates pumilio ... 

---